News

MTBA AGM

Thursday, 2nd February 2012

Written by IMBA Au National Director

The Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) Board oversees the growth and development of IMBA Australia. Details about the nominations and on line voting can be found here:

http://www.mtba.asn.au/news/1706-notice-of-annual-general-meeting-for-mtba

Only MTBA members are eligible to vote.

2011 IMBA Australia Retrospective

Thursday, 2nd February 2012

Written by Nick Bowman

2011 was a tough year and community updates were few and far between. Nonetheless, IMBA Australia was extremely busy during the year, working to provide more trails for more Australians. And before we get too far down the trail in 2012, it seemed only sensible to inform the MTB community about our achievements during 2011.

A big part of what we do is producing and facilitating Trail Workshops for Australian communities. These workshops are designed to provide land managers, trail advocates and dedicated trail builders with a basic level of knowledge and skills to develop, build and maintain trails in their region. The ultimate intention being that we can enhance the capacity of large and small Australian communities to get trail access underway in their region as well as ensure they have the ability to maintain and protect those trails well into the future. It is about a implementing a model of “trail stewardship” where locals can take pride in their own trails as well as meet the expectations and requirements for sustainability and risk minimisation. During 2011 IMBA Australia travelled far and wide to provide 2 day workshops in:

• Albury Wodonga (NSW / Vic) – conducted by Tony Boone, IMBA International Specialist
• Atherton Tablelands (Qld) – Partnered with Troy Rarick from Over the Edge Sports (Fruita, USA)
• Dwellingup (WA) – in association with Dafydd Davis (Wales, UK)
• Kalamunda (WA)
• Lysterfield (Vic) – Pump Track development
• Melrose (SA) – in association with Tony Boone
• Pt Macquarie (NSW) – in association with Tony Boone
• Warburton (Vic) – conducted by Tony Boone, IMBA International Specialist

Specialist workshops were held at:

• Bundanoon (NSW) – 4 day intensive “Trail Building Master Class” with Tony Boone
• Cudlee (Fox) Creek Forest (SA) – 5 days of specialist Trail Care Crew Leader Training with assistance from Justin Sexton (now Mitcham City Council Trails Officer). Spread over 5 weekends this training has been funded by ForestrySA.

IMBA Australia has also been busy making formal presentations to land managers and other key stakeholders in the business of trails. In 2011 IMBA Au presented to the following groups:

• Australian Alps Programs consisting of Park Staff and Rangers from NSW, Vic and ACT
• 2011 Australian Cycling Conference in Adelaide
• Alice Springs Town Council
• 2011 Trails Australia Tracks and Trails Conference (Sydney Olympic Park)
• Gold Coast city Council
• Crown Lands and Stakeholders @ Albury (info session)
• Albury Wodonga MTB Club (evening info session)
• Velo Mondial international organising committee
• Queensland Rangers Association Annual Meeting (Rainbow Beach HQ)

These presentations are significant in their ability to engage with the executive level in land management agencies to give them the tools and understanding they need to manage MTB in their part of the world. From these presentations, positive working partnerships have been established and an awareness of IMBA Australia’s role in finding solutions to trail issues is now formalised with those groups. IMBA Australias credibility with land management agencies continues to grow.

Trail Audits have been a solid stream of work and income for IMBA Australia during 2011, as well as enabling us to employ casual staff to assist in field work and reporting. These trail audits are extremely important for land managers and communities because they provide an objective “snap shot” of how existing trails are performing in relation to sustainability and safety. Often, local trail projects cannot proceed until this work is completed. During 2011 IMBA Australia worked in the following areas to provide professional assessments of existing trails:

•      Nail Can Hill, Albury (NSW)
•      Cudlee (Fox) Creek Forest, Adelaide Hills (SA)
•      Colquhoun State Forest, adjacent Lakes Entrance (Vic)
•      Eagle MTB Park, Adelaide (SA)
•      Kuranda DH Track, Cairns (Qld)
•      Livingstone State Park, adjacent Wagga Wagga (NSW)
•      Kalamunda Circuit, Perth Hills (WA)
•      Wayne Richards Park, Pt Macquarie (NSW)

IMBA Australia has also been engaged in high level Trail Design Projects at:

•          Livingstone State Park – 10km shared use trail loop
•          Hornsby Shire MTB Park (Old Mans Valley)
•          Sturt River Linear Trail Feasibility for Dept of Environment and natural Resources (DENR), SA
•          Cobblers Creek Rec Park (DENR, SA) trail network assessment and design
•          Re-design of Commonwealth Games Track (Lysterfield) – NOT USED by Parks Vic

But it’s not all talk! IMBA Australia also got down and dirty on some minor design and construction projects associated with clubs, workshops and the Dozer Project. IMBA Au designed and built trails can now be found at Lysterfield (Vic), Cudlee (Fox) Creek (SA) and Mt Lennard /Pile Rd (WA). We are also proud that the Pump Track at Lysterfield that was designed by IMBA Au and built with help from TrailMix, the Lysterfield District Riders and Parks Vic is working really well and now forms part of a solid little pocket park below the Lysterfield Lake dam wall.

Trail Dozer Project or rather “Tony Boone Trails Down Under Initiative” certainly helped to keep IMBA Au busy towards the end of 2011. Tony’s long association with Sutter Equipment enabled him to encourage the company to send a 5 ton, purpose built trail building dozer to Australia with the aim of building some nice wide flow trails, as well as potentially reducing trail building costs in Oz and providing Australian trail building contractors with the option of using the dozer on certain projects. Well as they say nothing worth doing is easy, and no matter how clean your dozer is Australian Customs will always find the dirt, as they should, protecting our borders and all. Next time, we will ship a new dozer! Anyway, once here the dozer, driven by Master Trail Builder Tony Boone has completed some great new trails in Lysterfield and Lithgow in the Blue Mountains. This is but a taste of things yet to come because Sutter have agreed to lease the Dozer to IMBA Australia in 2012 so we can hire it out to Aussie trail builders and communities so they can make their dirty trail dreams come true.

So now all we need to do is keep that momentum moving forward in 2012 and set the business foundations for future growth. IMBA Australia needs to spread its wings and leave the MTBA nest (metaphorically speaking). Challenges related to the IMBA Au website and on line membership (frustratingly) remain but with some solid time in the office during February, these issues should be resolved it the coming weeks.  All in all, this is the third year for IMBA Au and it is clear that it will be a time of consolidation, refinement and considered growth. IMBA Australia Membership is currently sitting around 500 members which is set to expand along with a range of benefits and discounted merchandise due to become available this year.

Thanks to everyone for their support in 2011.

Pony Express Complete

Wednesday, 18th January 2012

Written by Nick Bowman

Central Table Lands Club complete new DH at Lithgow!

IMBA Australia and Tony Boone (IMBA) provided the dozer for the bottom section!

Looks sick - check it!

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/237489/

We are very happy to have been able to support this process for new approved trails in sexy Aussie bushland! Naturally there is no substitute for elevation and lots of rock. Can't wait to ride it.

yew

PS let me know if you have a dozer project ready to roll!

WA DEC facility plays host to national mountain-biking event

Wednesday, 30th November 2011

Written by Tony Scott

The Goat Farm Mountain Bike venue in the Perth Hills hosted the opening round of the 2011–12 Mountain Bike Australia National Series All Mountain Cup last weekend.

Perth Hills District project manager Clinton Hull said the event had put the site on the international mountain bike map.

“Designing and developing the world-class site was a collaborative effort so it’s great to see it being used for such a big event,” he said. “DEC designed the site and provided $560,000 for the works program that included car parking facilities, shelters, toilets, signage and interpretation, fencing, workshops and track. “The WA Mountain Bike Association, Perth Mountain Bike Club and Cycling WA received a grant from Lotterywest and organised the volunteers who have undertaken many thousands of hours’ work on the tracks.”

Perth Hills Parks and Visitor Services Coordinator Jamie Ridley said the venue had worked to reduce illegal mountain biking in the area.

“There has been a crucial sustainability outcome from this work,” he said. “Illegal mountain bike tracks and structures in the forest have declined as people join the various associations and individual users discover the site. “Involving the community in the site’s development has also led to there being no graffiti at this site.”

The 2011–12 Mountain Bike Australia National Series All Mountain Cup featured high-level mountain bike action as riders from round Australia and overseas traversed the tracks, and pushed their times to the limit.

London Olympics hopeful Jenni King from Victoria vied with Jodie Willett from Queensland in the women’s elite event to take out the first position. In the men’s category, Andrew Blair from New South Wales challenged elite cyclist Athens Olympian Sid Taberley from Tasmania, and won by less than 30 seconds.

The course was popular among riders. “I really loved the course, it was pretty technical when you were riding quick. The rock gardens, drops and chutes were great fun. The climbing was tough,” said elite female winner Jenni King.

DEC Swan Region PVS Leader, Ewen MacGregor attended the event in his capacity as a self-confessed mountain bike enthusiast and found himself bestowing the awards.

“Give it a go,” he said. “The numerous trail routes have a full range of challenges and the names speak for themselves: Dugite Bite, Gravel Rash, Blue Cruising, Cannon Ball, Ball Breaker, A-Kline.

“Originally, The Goat Farm was an agricultural research station with a focus on goats. What to do with it? A mountain bike venue seemed obvious as the goats had already made a few tracks,” he said.

The 2011–12 Mountain Bike Australia National Series All Mountain Cup round will be shown on SBS on Sunday 27 November on the Cycling Central program at 5pm. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/news/33715/Blair-and-King-ride-to-victory-in-MTB-series-opener

Dirty Trail Dozer Detained for Decontamination

Friday, 4th November 2011

Written by Nicolas Bowman

It’s true: Australian customs do not like bringing in big dirty tools into our fair land. Sure we have to protect the lucky country, that’s understood and now it’s clear of customs, about to be loaded on a truck and sent down to Adelaide for the first of many trail projects in Oz.

This big dirty tool, is a purpose built trail dozer; a Sutter 500 and has been “loaned” from Sutter Equipment. Tony Boone, IMBA’s International Specialist in conjunction with TrailScapes and IMBA Australia have managed to work through the challenges to import the 4 tonne trail building monster with the hope that it can provide new cost effective ways of getting trails on the ground. After an advert on Rotoburn earlier in the year, there has been a fair amount of interest so the machine is booked up for the rest of the year in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Unfortunately due to the import complications and longer than expected shipping times, the dozer is 6 weeks behind schedule so Tony Boone will be charging ahead on shovel ready projects all the way to Christmas so we can get some results for the nominated projects.

Thanks to Sutter and TrailScapes for making in happen.

All going well you will be able to check out these new dozer built trails in 2012 at:

-          Craigburn Farm, Adelaide a brand new national parks project of 15km of sweet single track

-          Lysterfield Melbourne for some trail re-routes and upgrades

-          Lithgow, NSW for some trail upgrades organised by the Central Tablelands MTB Club.

If you think you have project that is ready to roll where the dozer maybe of some assistance in 2012, then let us know. Basic costs are $6500 per month to lease the machine, plus transport costs to your location. Operator costs are on top of that but you may have a local who has the skills.

IMBA Australia’s 2011 West Coast tour is well underway

Friday, 4th November 2011

Written by ND

IMBA Australia just completed a very successful Trail Workshop at Kalamunda thanks to WAMBA, the Dept of Sport and Rec and the Dept of Environment and Conservation. The new Kalamunda  Circuit has been completed by dedicated volunteers and professional trail contractors to create a diverse loop with options to entail 30km of truly awesome single track in a beautiful National Park. Yes, the rest of oz is now playing catch up, because these trails are in beautiful natural bush!

IMBA Au also visited the Goat Farm MTB Park, in Perth, to test out the new skills park and flow trail. It’s awesome! You could spend all day on those two sections alone! Make sure you bring your jump bike to the Nationals! You may even forget you are racing!

As part of the WA Tour, IMBA Australia has secured the services of international trails guru and all round legend, Dafydd Davis. He returns to Oz to share more of his wisdom and insights and provide assistance at the next 3 workshops down south. This weekend we are working with the South West MTB Club and Peel MTB Club to run two workshops in Wellington Mills, then it’s on to Margaret River for full day forum with local land mangers and business people. After that we will be visiting Pemberton bike trail hub to see how we can assist and support tourism growth in the region.

To cut a long story short, WA should definitely be on your MTB Bucket list!